Man pleads guilty to violent robbery of heroin dealer

Twenty-seven-year-old Marquice Hawkins pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to carrying out a violent robbery in New London on Oct. 13, 2013, just five months after he finished a prison sentence for carjacking a man and forcing him into the trunk of his car.

Hawkins, who was living in Middletown at the time of his arrest, will be sentenced Oct. 1 by Judge Hillary B. Strackbein to eight years in prison followed by seven years of special parole for first-degree robbery, possession of narcotics and violation of probation. In pleading guilty, he accepted a deal that was negotiated by State’s Attorney Michael L. Regan and defense attorney Bruce B. McIntyre.

According to Regan, Hawkins and 28-year-old Dehanna Nobleza conspired to rob Nobleza’s roommate, a heroin dealer who lived at 848 Bank St. Called to the scene by a person who said the victim appeared to be “bleeding to death,” police found the man standing in the doorway, covered in blood, his hands and feet tightly bound by zip ties.

Nobleza, who was a drug user, had exchanged several text messages with Hawkins as they conspired to rob the unidentified victim, according to Regan. The victim told police he was walking up to his third-floor apartment after buying candy for Nobleza when a man wearing a ski mask and rubber gloves struck him hard on the back of the head. He said he wrestled with the man, and they both fell down the stairs. He said the man threatened to kill him if he moved, bound him with zip ties and stole his wallet, cash and his cell phone.

Nobleza stole five grams of heroin from the victim and had it in her possession when she was arrested in Middletown after the incident, according to Regan.

The victim was hospitalized with gashes on his head, a broken hand, a small fracture to the spine and cuts to the abdomen, according to the police. Now in prison on unrelated charges, the victim is in agreement with Hawkins’ recommended sentence, according to Regan.

Nobleza’s case is pending and she is due back in court on Sept. 3.

Hawkins, who Regan said was found in possession of 11 bags of cocaine while incarcerated at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution, also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine.

He also admitted to a violation of probation. He had been released from prison on May 30, 2013, after serving seven years for carjacking a man on Cedar Street in Norwich. A condition of his probation was that he obey all laws. According to court testimony, Hawkins and another man, wearing masks and carrying gloves, robbed the victim of his belongings, including $12 in cash, and drove around with him in the trunk of his car before eventually leaving him bound and gagged behind a vacant building.

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